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Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

As David Bowie once sang, “Ch-ch-Changes, Just gonna have to be a different (wo)man.” But for the purposes of this post, the only changes we’re talking about are with my doggies 🙂

We’ve had Cindy for almost a month now and changes have happened – lots of them! First and foremost she’s adapted to life outside of a puppy mill. She knows what it’s like to have a home to live in, blankets to snuggle in, a bed to lay in (and not move for hours at a time), food that’s all her own and a yard to explore. She’s also learning that smaller puppies (i.e. Lucy!) aren’t hers – she’s a free woman! No more litters to look after.

Squishy face all nice and cozy on her bed – at least partly

Logistically speaking, Cindy has lost a much-needed significant amount of weight; she came in at 57 pounds, was down 1.5 pounds in just three days and her weight at this point is TBA (no scale at home). I do know her harness is much looser and she feels light enough to take the porch steps by herself and somehow propel herself onto the couch! Getting off it is an entirely different matter…

Look who’s on the couch!

She’s also stopped leaking and seems to have stopped having occasional accidents in the house meaning that we get to keep her out of the cage at night! I’m telling you, beyond the leaking, I don’t know why I was ever worried. Give this girl a floor pillow or cushions and she won’t move – ever! So we lay out a few cushions for her at night in the kitchen, close the doggy gate and I honestly don’t think she moves all night.

Cindy has also become much more social. Not that she was ever, ever anti-social, but now she is dying to go up to every person that walks by. We live behind a karate school and every day she watches the kids and their parents go in and out of the building; she loves to walk over to the parking lot and watch the people while praying for pets 🙂 You can almost see the visible disappointment on her face when no one pets her.

Cindy’s not the only one going through changes, though. This whole foster deal has been FULL of changes for little Lucy. I think given the fact that she’s only 11 months, she’s done a tremendous job. She can be a bit too energetic for Cindy, but that’s not really her fault.

A few noticeable changes, though. One, she is a bit more clingy! Lucy’s never been a terribly cuddly dog but now she practically drapes herself all over Marty’s lap at night almost pinning him in place. Occasionally she has to resort to lounging on me.

It’s not Daddy’s lap, but I guess it’ll do

I don’t want to admit it, but she’s probably also gained a pound or two. And not just from being a growing pup, either. Cindy is not a neat eater and Lucy gets the leftovers that Cindy scatters on the floor…

Soon to be Lucy’s leftovers!

Also, Lucy is such an obedient dog that when Cindy gets a treat for going potty outside, Lucy sits her little behind down because she knows that sitting and not begging for a treat results in getting said treat. Because I’m a pushover, there’s another pound or two added onto Lucy’s frame.

Most significantly, though, Lucy and Cindy have both learned to get along a bit better than they did in the beginning. Lucy still tries to play with Cindy but instead of lunging and barking at Lucy, Cindy generally lets Lucy do what she wants, including running sprints around Cindy, tugging at her ear and batting her with her paw to try and instigate playtime from Cindy 🙂

Yes Lucy, Cindy is still there

I think it’s also sunk for Lucy in that Cindy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and that she isn’t exactly a threat. Cindy is more or less a blob (a really, really cute and sweet blob!) and Lucy’s day-to-day routine hasn’t actually changed all that much.